need advice on body swap

[takgt]

My first post.
I recently bought a non running 78 fj40 .
I am working on getting it running to see if anything in the drive train needs attention.
The good points of this 40 :
1 very good interior. Dash, steering column, floor mats, jump seats, front/rear heater ect. are all in great shape.
2 the top, hood, bib, windshield/frame, are in good shape.
3 drive train all original no mods to deal with. 140,000k

The bad:
The BODY. rust on everything not mentioned above.
I am able to buy a 70 with a great body, new frame and new lift kit- (no drive train) for a reasonable price. (Cheaper than a new 3/4 tub.)
The question.
Can I transfer the drive train and top to the 70 body and frame?
I want to keep the ambulance doors if possible.
What problems will I have and what areas other than body issues will I have?
Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[takgt]

good idea, bad idea...?
Any advice?

 

[ARCTICMUTT]

With this group of people pics always help but...for the most part it sounds like everything would be bolt together with minimal fab work required to marry the two together. The 78 has the disc brake front axle, 2f, 4 speed and other desirable upgrades for the early models so in essence doing what you plan is what a lot of people slowly do to upgrade there early model. HTH

 

[shelfboy1]

did you try to search it would take a lot of writing to explain to what you have to do it can and has been done good luck

 

[cjgoode]

Yes move the drive train, top, axles etc to the 1970. Like said search for the ambulance doors, lots of people have done it and many posts, minor fit issue with the rear of the tub, rest should be pretty straight forward.

 

[takgt]

Thanks for the responses. It's been a while since I first posted.
I thought that the 70 purchase had fallen through. The guy had title problems so it looked like it wouldn't happen.
I will be getting the 70 on Wednesday if all goes well.
My original question was directed at if it could be done, I am mostly interested "IF" I should do it.
I have read the the 78 is a desirable year, and putting it on a 70 frame and mixing body parts seems like it will lower the overall value of the lc.
From what I have seen so far I think that the frame on the 78 is good as well.

Would it make more sense to try to sell the 78 and use the money to build up the 70?
any other ideas?
I will post pic's tomorrow of the 78 so you can asses the body.
I appreciate your help.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All,

There are a lot of "depends if" questions here.

Yes, I'd say an original '78 FJ40 is more desirable than an original 1970 FJ40 though if the '78 is a rust bucket and the '70 is solid the picture changes.

Then there are practical issues like where you live. In California a 1970 FJ40 is old enough to be considered smog-exempt. A '78 is still subject to both under hood inspection and tail pipe testing. That means the '78 must have *all* of the smog parts from the factory installed, or risk failing the inspection.

Consider swapping the rear 2/3s of the 1970 body tub onto the '78. This way you can avoid swapping the drive train and wiring.

Good luck,

Alan

My original question was directed at if it could be done, I am mostly interested "IF" I should do it.
I have read the the 78 is a desirable year, and putting it on a 70 frame and mixing body parts seems like it will lower the overall value of the lc.
From what I have seen so far I think that the frame on the 78 is good as well.

Would it make more sense to try to sell the 78 and use the money to build up the 70?
any other ideas?
I will post pic's tomorrow of the 78 so you can asses the body.
I appreciate your help.

 

[takgt]

Thanks for the reply,
I am attaching some pics to show the condition of the 78

 

[takgt]

some more

 

[takgt]

sorry ran out of room?

 

[takgt]

more rust

 

[takgt]

a few more for now

 

[REZARF]

I haven't done the swap you are talking about but the 40's didn't see SIGNIFICANT frame and dimensional changes throughout their legendary run... I would think you could make it work relatively easy.

Figure how much time and money it should cost, then double it, and you'll be in the ballpark.

 

[UZJ40]

Figure how much time and money it should cost, then double it, and you'll be in the ballpark.

Then, double it again

 

[Gusb]

I like that 78 and it really is the best year. Did you mention what's up with the 2F (other than not running) and the frame - are they good? You don't say if you would do some metal work yourself or pay someone to get it done? If the toasted sheet metal is the main problem with the 78 and you determine it's fixable I would focus on the 78 and pour the $ in there. That is if you care about having an original 40 (I would take it back to the original white).

Of course you may have some creative fun with the Frankenstein approach and all those parts everywhere and that's cool too.

That's some bad rust but at least it's not all covered up with bondo.

 

[takgt]

Thanks,
When I bought the 78 it was not running. The po said that it sat for a long time and she didn't drain the fuel tank.
When I got it home I drained the tank to see how bad it was.
It has a crusty layer half the way up the side. Only a tiny amount of rust.
I am not sure how I will proceed with the tank at this point, I think that I will just run a hose to a gas can to get the engine started.
As far as I know it only needs a carb rebuild and clean fuel lines (as well as the tank)
I really only want to make sure that the engine guns before I pull it out.
I have not really taken a hard look at the frame because I thought I would just use the one from the 70. From what I have seen the 78 frame looks solid, with no rot.
As far as doing body work............... I can weld just fine but I really don't want to tackle this big of a project for a first try. I have read other people who end up spending lots of money and more importantly tons of time to complete a body as bad as this. I don't want to run out of gas spending a large amount of time on bodywork. I know me and I need to avoid getting bogged down in something that I am not comfortable with, bodywork that is.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part! see pic

 

[Gusb]

Funny - my son is looking at a more or less cherry old 78 Ford pickup and the one big bump in the road is an after-market moon roof in the cab x2 - nice view of your garage door.

 

[takgt]

Well I got the 70 in my garage today.
Here are some pics of its current state.

 

[takgt]

here are a few more

 

[takgt]

the last of the pics for now